OZONE PARK, N.Y. - After an unsuccessful attempt to join the Triple Crown trail, Galloping Grocer returns to restricted stakes company Sunday when he heads an eight-horse field entered in the $150,000 Times Square Stakes at Aqueduct. Only progeny of New York-based stallions are eligible for this one-mile race.

Galloping Grocer was voted the New York-bred champion 2-year-old of 2004, beating statebreds in three starts by a combined 31 3/4 lengths. He established himself as a potential Kentucky Derby candidate by running a good second to Rockport Harbor in the Grade 2 Remsen.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - One of the alluring aspects of racing at Keeneland is the inherent variety in any given race. The $100,000 Appalachian Stakes, the feature race Sunday, offers a prime example of such.

Twelve 3-year-old fillies, including two also-eligibles, are entered in the Appalachian, a 1 1/16-mile turf race that will be run for the 17th time. Incredibly, the 12 fillies made their last starts at nine different racetracks, a statistic that illustrates the melting-pot effect at Keeneland.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Fair Grounds shippers kicked some serious butt on opening weekend of the Woodbine meeting, and if the trend continues, it could take a lot to defeat Carlea in Sunday's $138,750 Star Shoot Stakes.

The six-furlong dash for 3-year-old fillies has also lured the 2004 Canadian champion 2-year-old filly, Simply Lovely, who is making her first start of the season.

AUBURN, Wash. - Willie the Cat will have eight challengers when he attempts to repeat in Sunday's $40,000 Seattle Handicap at Emerald Downs.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Notis Otis, the local juvenile champ in 2004, was scheduled to make his 3-year-old debut in the City of Vancouver Stakes on Sunday. But when only one other horse entered the $40,000 sprint for British Columbia-breds, management at Hastings decided to scrap the race. Instead, a $20,000 claiming race for fillies and mares highlights the eight-race card.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - After racing five times in 78 days at three different distances, Karakorum Splendor was in need of a break following a disappointing fifth-place finish in last December's East View Stakes.

Karakorum Splendor returns from a 140-day vacation on Sunday against 10 other 3-year-old daughters of New York-based stallions in the $150,000 Park Avenue Stakes at Aqueduct. The Park Avenue will be run as the finale on a nine-race card that also includes the Times Square Stakes for colts and geldings.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - A meet conducted in temporary tents, with a disastrous opening day and an infectious-disease scare might seem like one you would want to forget. But the quality of racing at the 2005 Gulfstream Park meet, which concludes Sunday, made it unforgettable instead.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Singletary, the winner of the 2004 Breeders' Cup Mile, will skip the $100,000 Inglewood Handicap next Saturday in favor of the $350,000 Shoemaker Breeders' Cup Mile on May 30, trainer Don Chatlos said earlier this week.

Chatlos has been adamant about giving Singletary a limited number of starts this year before attempting to defend his title in the BC Mile at Belmont Park in late October.

"I don't want to deviate too much from what we did last year," Chatlos said.

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Trainer Cole Norman blazed into Del Mar two years ago and won the Bing Crosby Breeders' Cup with Beau's Town. He plans to be back this summer. Norman said the Bing Crosby, which is now a Grade 1, is a summer goal for Top Commander.

Top Commander won the Grade 3, $150,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap in his last start April 14, and earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 111. The number was the highest earned by a horse during the Oaklawn meet, topping the 110 that Top Commander earned in an allowance March 11.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The success of Valentine Dancer over the last few years has so inspired trainer Craig Lewis that he named his somewhat goofy Labrador retriever Valentino.

But the filly's legacy is certain to be much greater than that. If Valentine Dancer wins Sunday's $150,000 Fran's Valentine Stakes at Hollywood Park, she will become only the fifth California-bred female to reach at least $1 million in career earnings. By year's end, Lewis and owners Al and Sandee Kirkwood are hoping that can reach the top of that list.